


A Moment

by byesweetheart (ConstantComment)



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Coming of Age, Drabble, M/M, Pre-Slash, Responsibility, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-18
Updated: 2018-02-18
Packaged: 2019-03-20 20:38:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13725540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConstantComment/pseuds/byesweetheart
Summary: A reunion after some months apart reveals some things to Firelord Zuko.





	A Moment

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sage (the_ruined_earth_sagelord)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_ruined_earth_sagelord/gifts).



> I don't know who's into reading Avatar fanfic these days, but I've been wallowing in ZukAang feels since my summer rewatch and had to scribble something down. :} 
> 
> This is a belated cross-post from tumblr and my first (albeit tiny) fanfic for the Avatar series, a most beloved show. <3

When Zuko next sees him, time feels as if it’s been stretched endlessly between them. In reality, it’s been under a year since they last shared the same air, so Zuko realizes he’s being dramatic (even more so than usual) and whimsical (more usual than you’d think) to think of never-ending meetings and delegating and tradition and a dignified loneliness, to feel guilty that he sometimes yearns for when he was younger, on the run, an outcast, a little  _boy_. And, boy, does Zuko feel like one when he arrives.

And he arrives with ceremony, these days. Soldiers and acolytes and White Lotus counsel flank him on all sides as he approaches the palace, but he wears the same carefree smile and bright eyes, at least when he meets Zuko’s gaze. Time has been stretched out, yes – eons of it triggering another sort of yearning inside Zuko’s chest like he’s already  _left_  when he’s right there – but then again, time has passed in a blink, or not passed at all, from the look of him. He’s the same.

Well, not the same,  _exactly._

He’s taller, so much so that Zuko wonders if he could still see the top of his head if they stood at each other’s side. He is sturdier, too – not so birdlike as he was when they met – but definitely not flightless, either. He walks like he’s poised to leap into the air and never meet the ground again, with the energy he carries when he walks in his many folds of bright simple fabrics with staff held high. His eyes are still big and grey like misty mornings far from here, but his face has thinned, the last of his babyish features faded and replaced by a stronger jaw, sharp cheekbones, a long thin nose, a quirked mouth.

“Avatar Aang,” Zuko intones when he finally reaches the dais where Zuko stands by the palace’s great doors, overly formal, and they bow as firebenders do.

Zuko meets his eye after a ceremonial pause, and Aang’s smile is transformed. His bright eyes sparkle a little, and in that instant he’s twelve again, especially when he says, “Hotman.”

One of Zuko’s advisors clears her throat, and Aang bows more deeply, with more flourish, and adds, “Dragon dancer, supreme leader, Firelord Zuko.”

Despite himself and his onlooking court, Zuko chokes out a laugh and reaches out to wrap Aang into a hug. Hands sweep across Zuko’s shoulders in a brief, surprised, pleased embrace, and Zuko takes a shaky breath as he squeezes tight around a solid waist. His fingers dig into wiry ribcage and muscled neck. It’s crazy to think it, but he smells just like clouds high above the ground.

“ _Aang,_ ” Zuko says, and holds him tighter for a moment – as long as he can.

It’s terribly informal, but Zuko knows he couldn’t have prevented it if he tried. Still, he cringes inwardly when he pulls away and his court and all gathered for the Avatar’s arrival stand perplexed by his unusually emotional behavior, his giddiness. But, Aang is gracious as always, and he squeezes Zuko’s arm as he leans away as well. His eyes, though, seek out Zuko’s, and from the hesitation in his movement and the parting of his mouth, he has caught something in them.

Zuko doesn’t know what it is himself, so maybe it’s best to pretend it never happened, but Aang hesitates before taking a small breath, a small flustered smile, and turns to the crowd.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos are appreciated. 
> 
> Come on over and say hi on [Tumblr](http://byesweetheart.tumblr.com/) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/byesweetheart_)!


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